David Band lawsuit may not be over

Thursday

Jun 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Case sent back to judge who must decide whether to hold trial for damages

By JOSH SALMAN

A $1 million lawsuit against prominent Sarasota attorney and real estate investor David S. Band over a botched Virgin Islands condominium project that concluded in 2011 might not be finished after all.

The 2nd District Court of Appeals has ordered a hearing on whether disgruntled investor Harold Libby is entitled to a second trial to decide if Band owes him money.

The May 22 decision comes three months after the same appellate court ruled that Band would not have to face a hearing to determine whether Libby is owed damages in the case.

Libby, who also lives in Sarasota, sued Band in August 2008, alleging negligence and fraud in Band's handling of the 48-unit condo project known as Grande Bay on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A jury in May 2011 found that Band breached his fiduciary duty to Libby on the project. But the jury also decided that Band still didn't owe Libby any money in the case. It also exonerated Band of all Libby's other allegations.

Four months after that verdict, Circuit Court Judge Charles E. Roberts ruled that a hearing should be held to determine damages.

The appeals court disagreed, but then subsequently reversed its own decision.

Now, in the new hearing, Libby's and Band's attorneys will argue before Judge Roberts over whether another hearing over damages should be held.

Steve Hutton, a Sarasota attorney representing Band in the matter, said he does not believe the hearing will result in a damages trial.

"In my opinion, it was a technicality more than anything," Hutton said. "I suspect this will be the end of it."

Gwendolyn Powell Braswell, an appeals attorney representing Libby, said in an email that, "This new opinion may also open the way for more settlement discussions."

A trial, if ordered, could occur before the end of this year.

Libby in 2001 made an initial investment of $140,000 for a 10 percent stake in the St. John condos. But as the project went over budget, his total contribution ballooned to more than $1 million. In all, the project went roughly $45 million over budget and its completion was delayed by several years.

Libby was ultimately removed as a partner in Grande Bay, and forced to forfeit his investment, after he balked at providing additional capital.

"It was a beautiful site, but there were problems from the beginning," Libby said this week of Grande Bay. "The place was total disaster."

Libby, who ran a company that bought and developed shopping malls and retail centers in several states, testified at the trial that he did not read important documents associated with Grande Bay. Instead, he relied on Band, who was his personal attorney.

Band countered at trial that he was merely a partner in the project, and that he had not acted as Libby's personal counsel on the condo deal.

"People come up with all kinds of things against me that are totally false," Band told the Herald-Tribune in March. "It's sort of disgusting, in a lot of ways. I didn't do anything, and he sues me."